As the Vice President of Development, Dale’s primary responsibility is to secure and support Signature Events for Las Vegas and outlying areas, including Laughlin and Mesquite. He is focused on working with proven event producers to ensure all supported events align with LVE’s criteria and overall goals for the destination. To further enhance each event experience, Dale continuously works with all event producers and hotel properties to assist in developing spin-off events that will position Las Vegas as the premier event destination. See this spotlight for more details.
Dale grew up in Des Plaines, IL, a northwest suburb of Chicago and neighboring city to Rosemont. He is the youngest of three kids. Dale grew up in a very sports-oriented family. Dale’s father played professional baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization. Participating, watching, and attending sporting events was a way of life for the Eeles family. Dale excelled in football, basketball, and baseball throughout his childhood and high school years. He is a member of the Maine West High School’s Sports Hall of Fame. Dale has always been interested in working in the sports/events business. While attending UNLV in 1993 (he graduated from UNLV in 1994), he had the opportunity to intern with Steve Stallworth in the Corporate Relations Department at the Thomas & Mack Center/Sam Boyd Stadium. This department was responsible for generating revenue through corporate sponsorships, VIP suites, subleasing suites, and club seats. Dale had the opportunity to learn about sales and customer service from one of the best guys in town.
In 1996, the UNLV Sports Marketing Department was created. In this new role, Dale had the opportunity to include UNLV football and basketball inventory in sponsorship packages.
This included radio spots,TV spots, courtside rotational signage, in-game promotions, and game-day giveaways. Dale also had the opportunity to run the game-day script for football and basketball games. Dale spent a total of 12 years working at the TMC/SBS. He started at the bottom and ended up as the director of the department. He attended every event at the venues during this time.
His highlights included:
• Secured $1 million naming rights for the new press tower at Sam Boyd
Stadium;
• Assisted in the $5 million dollar naming rights for the Cox Pavilion;
• Organized campus committee to secure new five year soft drink spon-
sorship valued at over $2 million dollars;
• Subleased a suite for $60,000 for the Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox
Lewis fight in November of 1999.
Dale joined Las Vegas Events as Director of Corporate Marketing in April2005. At that time, he was responsible for marketing, selling and managingsponsorship sales for special events, networking with the hotel properties and local and national sponsors, and securing television partners for select events.
He served in this role through 2011. As the Director of Corporate Marketing, Dale developed strong relationships with each hotel property and was instrumental in creating the Signature Event Initiative as a means to better connect our event producers and hotel properties. The initiative further encouraged the event producers to create spin-off events that take place at the hotel properties and to activate on-site around city-wide events.
Dale has worked diligently to create partnerships and agreements that are still benefitting Las Vegas today. In 2006, he introduced promoter, Chris Spencer, to Steve Stallworth,
which lead to the Orleans Arena hosting the first-ever collegiate basketball tournament in a casino venue. Also in 2006, Dale assisted in creating the partnership with Wynn Resorts and USA Basketball, one that still exists to this day. Dale later developed the idea for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon to run a night race, thereby creating unique, hotel spin-off events while keeping all participants in town on Sunday night. For the Wrangler NFR, Dale redeveloped the sponsorships packages, removing the lottery system. He added assets and increased the sponsorship value from $30,000 to $50,000 per year and offered multi-year agreements.
In January 2012, Dale was promoted to Vice President of Event Development. During his tenure, he has refined the online event application and created and continually updated the Event Criteria Matrix and guidelines for all events that take place in Las Vegas. In Laughlin, Dale has improved the schedule of events by creating a strategic plan, committing to face-to-face monthly meetings with all the hotel properties, and assisting in the opening of the Laughlin Event Center.
His current major project is to oversee LVE’s new B2B initiative, positioning LVE as the event connector for the destination and surrounding cities in order
to secure new events.
Dale is very active in the Las Vegas community. He served as a part-time professor in the UNLV Hotel College from 2003-2005, graduated from Leadership Las Vegas in 2008 and is a member of the Las Vegas Host Committee. He also served as the Executive Director of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame from 2004-2013 and currently as the chairman. He became a YMCA Board Member in 2012 and continues in that role.
Dale loves a challenge, loves to compete, and loves to win.
